Global well-posedness for the micropolar fluid system in the critical Besov spaces

We prove the global well-posedness for the 3-D micropolar fluid system in the critical Besov spaces by making a suitable transformation to the solutions and using the Fourier localization method, especially combined with a new $L^p$ estimate for the Green matrix to the linear system of the transformed equation. This result allows to construct global solutions for a class of highly oscillating initial data of Cannone's type. Meanwhile, we analyze the long behavior of the solutions and get some decay estimates.Comment: 23page

Infinite energy solutions to the homogeneous Boltzmann equation

The goal of this work is to present an approach to the homogeneous Boltzmann equation for Maxwellian molecules with a physical collision kernel which allows us to construct unique solutions to the initial value problem in a space of probability measures defined via the Fourier transform. In that space, the second moment of a measure is not assumed to be finite, so infinite energy solutions are not {\it a priori} excluded from our considerations. Moreover, we study the large time asymptotics of solutions and, in a particular case, we give an elementary proof of the asymptotic stability of self-similar solutions obtained by A.V. Bobylev and C. Cercignani [J. Stat. Phys. {\bf 106} (2002), 1039--1071]

The Evaluation of the Efficacy of the R&D European Funds in Piedmont

This paper provides some empirical evidence of the impact of two policy measures, aiming at supporting innovative activity of small and medium firms in Piedmont. Both measures use European Structural Funds, but are managed at a regional level. Measure 2.1b, a concessional loan aiming at stimulating the introduction of innovative plants, machinery and equipments, had positive effects on investments, assets and sales in the short run; but there are hints that investments could have been anticipated from already scheduled projects in the following periods. Measure 2.6b, a free grant aiming at stimulating research activity of firms, had positive effects on intangible investments and capital, but this new knowledge does not seem to be able to directly impact on the production process of the firm. When evaluating the effect for specific groups of firms, for both measures we do not find stronger effects for firms characterized by a high intensity of subsidy. When considering firms with a high cost of capital, we find that Measure 2.1b significantly reduced the interest rate asked by the lenders also after the end of the project, while Measure 2.6b had not been effective at all.

Global well-posedness for the 3D rotating Navier-Stokes equations with highly oscillating initial data

In this paper, we prove the global well-posedness for the 3D rotating Navier-Stokes equations in the critical functional framework. Especially, this result allows to construct global solutions for a class of highly oscillating initial data.Comment: 20page

The Effective Field Theory of Inflation Models with Sharp Features

We describe models of single-field inflation with small and sharp step features in the potential (and sound speed) of the inflaton field, in the context of the Effective Field Theory of Inflation. This approach allows us to study the effects of features in the power-spectrum and in the bispectrum of curvature perturbations, from a model-independent point of view, by parametrizing the features directly with modified "slow-roll" parameters. We can obtain a self-consistent power-spectrum, together with enhanced non-Gaussianity, which grows with a quantity $\beta$ that parametrizes the sharpness of the step. With this treatment it is straightforward to generalize and include features in other coefficients of the effective action of the inflaton field fluctuations. Our conclusion in this case is that, excluding extrinsic curvature terms, the only interesting effects at the level of the bispectrum could arise from features in the first slow-roll parameter $\epsilon$ or in the speed of sound $c_s$. Finally, we derive an upper bound on the parameter $\beta$ from the consistency of the perturbative expansion of the action for inflaton perturbations. This constraint can be used for an estimation of the signal-to-noise ratio, to show that the observable which is most sensitive to features is the power-spectrum. This conclusion would change if we consider the contemporary presence of a feature and a speed of sound $c_s < 1$, as, in such a case, contributions from an oscillating folded configuration can potentially make the bispectrum the leading observable for feature models.Comment: 31 pages, 11 figures; references added, accepted version for publication in JCA

Almost sure existence of global weak solutions for super-critical Navier-Stokes equations

In this paper we show that after suitable data randomization there exists a large set of super-critical periodic initial data, in $H^{-\alpha}({\mathbb T}^d)$ for some $\alpha(d) > 0$, for both 2d and 3d Navier-Stokes equations for which global energy bounds are proved. As a consequence, we obtain almost sure super-critical global weak solutions. We also show that in 2d these global weak solutions are unique.Comment: 22 pages, a revised argument in Section 5, the $d=3$ cas

Perturbative Unitarity of Inflationary Models with Features

We consider the pertubative consistency of inflationary models with features with effective field theory methods. By estimating the size of one-loop contributions to the three-point function, we find the energy scale where their contribution is of the same order of the tree-level amplitude. It is well-known that beyond that scale, perturbative unitarity is lost and the theory is no more under theoretical control. Requiring that all the relevant energy scales of the problem are below this cutoff, we derive a strong upper bound on the sharpness of the feature, or equivalently on its characteristic time scale, which is independent on the amplitude of the feature itself. We point out that the sharp features which seem to provide better fits to the CMB power spectrum are already outside this bound, questioning the consistency of the models that predict them

Generalised tensor fluctuations and inflation

Using an effective field theory approach to inflation, we examine novel properties of the spectrum of inflationary tensor fluctuations, that arise when breaking some of the symmetries or requirements usually imposed on the dynamics of perturbations. During single-clock inflation, time-reparameterization invariance is broken by a time-dependent cosmological background. In order to explore more general scenarios, we consider the possibility that spatial diffeomorphism invariance is also broken by effective mass terms or by derivative operators for the metric fluctuations in the Lagrangian. We investigate the cosmological consequences of the breaking of spatial diffeomorphisms, focussing on operators that affect the power spectrum of fluctuations. We identify the operators for tensor fluctuations that can provide a blue spectrum without violating the null energy condition, and operators for scalar fluctuations that lead to non-conservation of the comoving curvature perturbation on superhorizon scales even in single-clock inflation. In the last part of our work, we also examine the consequences of operators containing more than two spatial derivatives, discussing how they affect the sound speed of tensor fluctuations, and showing that they can mimic some of the interesting effects of symmetry breaking operators, even in scenarios that preserve spatial diffeomorphism invariance.Comment: 20 pages. V3: typos corrected and references added. Matches version published in JCA